


can't buy me love (but you sure can show it)

by their_dark_materials



Series: Robron Week 2018 [1]
Category: Emmerdale, Roblivionberry, robron
Genre: Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Sequence, Established Relationship, M/M, One mention of Seb, Post-Canon, Post-Reunion 2018, Robron Week 2018, Slice of Life, Sort Of, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14091951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/their_dark_materials/pseuds/their_dark_materials
Summary: Home isn’t the four walls you stay in, day in and day out. It’s a place where you feel free to be yourself, and are cared for.Or, Robert, Aaron, Liv, and Gerry's lives together observed through a series of vignettes about the random purchases they make for each other.Day 1: Home/Domesticity





	can't buy me love (but you sure can show it)

“ _He doesn’t even like yoghurt_.” — Ancient Dingle Proverb

:::::

 

**Dark Chocolate**

Robert Sugden doesn’t have a lot of indulgences, but he _does_ like to reward himself with a single square of dark chocolate every now and then, usually after a meal, or a job well done — and sometimes, _very_ rarely, when he’s stressed about something big.

It’s not until they’d officially moved in together (the _first_ time) and bars of some kind of dark, _bitter_ German chocolate started appearing in the refrigerator that Aaron had put it together. Because as much as Robert likes his treats rich and _somewhat_ sweet, he also likes them in small bites doled out over a _long_ period of time.

They’ve never _quite_ talked about it, but anytime Aaron sees that telltale bar is nearing its second or third last square (usually once every couple of months), he makes sure to pick another one up at David’s shop, even noting the name of the exact brand Robert likes so as to never deviate from the norm. The older man never says anything when he spots it among the rest of their groceries, but _always_ finds a way to show his gratitude; cooking a favourite dish the next day, or being a little _extra_ attentive in the bedroom that night.

When Robert moves back in (the second and _final_ time), there’s already an unopened bar of chocolate sitting in the refrigerator — one of the _many_ surprises Aaron has had waiting for his husband. Only this time, the older man proceeds to unwrap it in front of him, breaking off squares for _both_ of them, and offering Aaron his with a soft smile.

Despite the slightly bitter taste, their kisses that night are _little_ sweeter than usual.

:::::

 

**Pads**

She can tell who’s bought them based on which kind appear in the little wicker basket under the bathroom sink. If it’s Robert, there’s usually two kinds (regular _and_ overnight), both always the same brand. If it’s Aaron, it’s the standard kind, with the brand varying based on what kind of sale there might be at the chemist’s — or if Tracy’s working at David’s Shop that day, eager to give her big brother a quiet but understanding nudge in the right direction. (She’s never been so grateful they’ve started stocking up on and selling these kinds of necessities.)

It shouldn’t matter, but it _does_.

Not because they’re both men daring to buy feminine hygiene products in public or anything silly like _that_. But because it’s a sign that they’re thinking of her and what she might _need_ and making sure she’s always provided for. Even though she’s more than old enough to take care of this kind of thing herself. Even though this is something they could have left to _Chas_.

(And because she can still remember the first time she’d gotten her period while in their care, and how they’d both been ill-equipped to deal with it. But now? Now, one of them — probably Robert — has figured out that she prefers pads to tampons, and so stopped them buying those, the box of them mysteriously vanishing after their first few months living together.)

There have been many times she’s wanted to thank them. But it always feels silly, in very much the way it feels absolutely ridiculous to say, “Thank you for loving me.”

Only that actually _is_ what she _does_ mean to say.

Because she _is_ thankful that they love and care enough to know these things about her, in very much the same way she knows little things about them. Like how Robert has instructed Marlon and Vic to _always_ give him _double_ the regular helping of chips for when Aaron doesn’t order any, so her chip-loving big brother can pick them off of Robert’s plate, while still enjoying whatever it is he has decided to order that day, or how Aaron’s been secretly learning Klingon so he can surprise the older man on his birthday by saying something in it. (She didn’t ask.)

And because she’s never quite able to form those words, she does her best not to be so gobby every now and then, or just help out around the house more. But then, there are days like today, where she’s seized with the sudden desire to give them _both_ a hug as they’re sitting there watching yet _another_ episode of _Top Gear_ , quietly bickering among themselves, their conversation intersperse with low chuckles at the other’s jokes. It’s all so utterly _domestic_ — and nothing like she’d have ever dreamed she’d be a part of. So she gives in to that particular desire, going over and leaning forward and squeezing them both from behind, before quickly heading upstairs, a hot blush staining her cheeks red.

“What was _that_ about?” She hears Robert ask, confused by this sudden turn of events.

“I have no idea,” Aaron replies, sounding just as baffled. He then calls out, “Liv? You okay?”

 _Yeah_ , she thinks to herself before yelling it out. _I’m doing just_ fine _._

:::::

 

**Frozen Pizza**

He’s never been the best cook, but Gerry knows a thing or two about frozen pizzas. After all, he’s only been buying and making (and eating) them his entire life, seeing as how his parents were never very good cooks — if they ever bothered putting food on the table, that is.

So the first chance he gets, he goes down to David’s shop and buys five personal size pizzas and a range of different toppings, rushing to get home before anyone else.

Thankfully, Liv’s the only one there, spread out on the sofa, watching yet another rerun of _The Simpsons_.

“What’s all this?” She asks, intrigued enough to get up and come see what he’s up to.

“What does it look like?” He asks her as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m makin’ tea.”

“Not sure it counts if you’re just reheating something in the oven,” she teases, examining one of the boxes peeping out of the bag.

“Yeah, but I’m not just doin’ that, _am_ _I_?” Gerry says, as he takes the box from her and starts opening it. “I’m makin’ them _special_.”

He nods at the other bag beside the first one. “I got toppings for each of ya.”

Liv’s expression softens at that.

“Why ya doin’ this?” She asks, but judging from the way she’s picking up and opening the other boxes for him, he guesses she already knows.

“Just wanted to say _thanks_ , I suppose,” he shrugs at her. “They don’t _have_ to keep lettin’ me live here like this.”

She nods and starts unpacking the rest of his purchases.

~~~~~

Aaron and Robert are both surprised and touched by his display of gratitude, neither of them having expected this. For once, neither man teases him, even though dessert is quite literally a cheese pizza with Nutella spread across it and various chocolate candies stuck on it, as well as crushed peanuts. (When he was little, he named this creation the “Peanut Butter Gerry Time.”)

(And though no one really says it, they all kind of get it. Because home isn’t the four walls you stay in, day in and day out. It’s a place where you feel free to be yourself, and are cared for.)

As they begin to clear up, Gerry does his best to explain what tonight was about. But Aaron quickly brushes it off. “Come on mate, it’s _us_ that should be thankin’ you. Never had fresh fried bacon on a cheese pizza, but I’m tellin’ ya, I’m never going back.”

“Duly noted,” Robert had replied, before turning to Gerry. “I know you’re a master of frozen pizza and all, but if you ever want to learn how to make one from scratch, I _can_ teach you. It’s quite fun actually.”

It hardly takes him less than a second to agree.

~~~~~

It takes them less than a month to institute “Pizza Night,” a night where he and Liv relieve Robert of all cooking responsibilities as they do their best to follow his carefully demonstrated instructions.

It’s then, gently stretching the freshly risen dough in his hands — and listening to Robert and Aaron discuss something Vic had said earlier in the day — that Gerry smiles quietly to himself.

He may know everything there is about making a frozen pizza, but he much prefers this instead.

:::::

**Cold Medicine**

There’s a lot of things that make Aaron Dingle grumpier than usual — and falling ill is one of them. In _that_ regard he gives Robert a run for his money as the worst patient in the Dingle-Sugden household. (Though he is fairly _less_ dramatic about the whole thing, preferring to suffer in silence, except for the occasional sneeze or cough.)

So anytime the older man hears his partner produce even a _hint_ of a telltale sniffle, he springs into action, first hitting up the chemist for the extra-strength cold and flu medication before stopping over at David’s for every manner of Dingle comfort food possible. (A box of milk chocolate Digestives, a bunch of bananas, and this awful powdered chicken noodle soup that his husband _really_ shouldn’t eat but remembers fondly from the days Chas used to make it for him as a teen.)

By the time Aaron gets home from work, the entire place is smelling of Robert’s own made-from-scratch, Thai-influenced chicken soup — the blonde deciding to save the packet kind for if his husband _really_ finds himself in the throws of a fever — and the sofa’s been turned into some kind of blanket fort hybrid. (The first time Gerry’d seen it, he’d wanted to dive right in, but had quickly changed his mind after seeing the ice cold glare Robert had thrown his way.)

“You don’t have to do this you know,” he grumbles even as he kicks off his shoes and strips down to his usual hoodie and slides under the comforter Robert has purchased for this purpose alone. It’s clear from his slightly sluggish movements and a grumpier-than-usual demeanour he’s well on his way to a head cold.

“I know I don’t,” Robert tells him, bringing over a tray of soup, as well as a tiny bowl of those oyster crackers he loves so much. “But I’d rather over-pamper you _now_ , than sit through two weeks of you refusing to see the doctor until you’re on Death’s door, in which case I’ll have to carry you to the hospital myself.”

“What happened to, ‘In sickness and in health,’?” Aaron asks in between loudly slurped bites, drops of warm soup splattering across his chest.

“When _you’re_ sick, it’s more a case of, ‘ _When_ will Death do us part’?” Robert jokes, joining him under the covers with a tray of his own. 

The younger man takes a break just to elbow him in the stomach, before resuming his eating with gusto.

Robert switches on the TV, already having cued up _Rocky Balboa_ for them to watch. But before he hits play, he turns to Aaron and softly says, “I only do all this because I’d like to keep you around for as long as I can, you know.”

This brooks him a response from the younger man, who turns to him and gazes at him with warm, understanding eyes. “I know.”

Robert leans in for a kiss but Aaron doesn’t. He shakes his head. “I’d like to keep _you_ around a lot longer as well.”

A twinkle of mischief finds its way into his face as he quickly adds, “Because if _you_ get sick, it’ll _definitely_ be Death doin’ us part. ‘cause I’ll _have_ to kill ya to stop all the moanin’.”

“I don’t _moan_ when I’m sick,” Robert protests, insulted by the very notion.

Aaron gives him a pointed stare.

Finally, Robert concedes, “Okay. Maybe I _do_ moan. But it’s _only_ a little.”

(Aaron just snorts, but quickly covers it up with another loud slurp.)

:::::

**Candles**

It’s Liv that first alerts them to the fast-approaching date, something Gerry, rather surprisingly, doesn’t say a word about — even though they’d all expected him to not shut up about it for _at least_ a week.

“Maybe he doesn’t want us to make a big deal of it?” Aaron suggests as he laces up his work boots, one morning before work.

“Have you _met_ Gerry?” Robert asks him, only a hint of sarcasm in his voice, as he buttons up his shirt. “He texted me pictures of the first carrot he pulled from _Doug’s garden_.”

“Then why wouldn’t he mention his _birthday_?” Aaron asks, getting to his feet.

“How should I know?” Robert shrugs. “So, what are we going to do then? The usual?”

“The usual?” Aaron asks, confusion entering his voice as he turns to face his husband.

“Breakfast, cake, and presents?” the other man explains, as he checks himself out in the mirror. (The younger man uses this opportunity to admire his husband’s firm behind, sending out a mental thank you to whoever sold him that pair of jeans.)

Aaron tears his eyes away a moment later and nods thoughtfully, “Yeah… And then maybe a small party at ours later.”

“Sounds good,” Robert confirms, stepping forward to give him a kiss on the lips. “Alright. I have to rush to that meeting, but we’ll talk about this later, yeah?”

Aaron smiles back in response. “Yeah.”

~~~~~

When Gerry doesn’t show up the morning of his actual birthday, they all exchange concerned glances across the table, while a chocolate ice cream cake slowly melts, and a stack of freshly made pancakes begins to cool.

Liv goes up to check on him but returns shortly thereafter. “He’s not up there, and the bed doesn’t even look slept on.”

“Does that mean he just didn’t come home, then?” Aaron asks, confused by this development.

“He could be staying at a mate’s,” Robert suggests. “It _is_ a Sunday.”

“No,” Liv tells him, sure of herself. “Gerry _always_ comes home. He would have told me. He  _never_ stays out this long.”

“Alright, let’s give him a ring then,” Robert tells her. “Find out where he is.”

Liv does as he says. But she shakes her head a second later. “It went straight to voicemail.”

“It must be switched off,” Aaron says, running a hand through his hair. “Like _usual_. That's why I’m always tellin’ him to keep it charged!”

“Let’s not panic. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this,” Robert says calmly. “I’ll ring Doug. Aaron, you call Belle and see if Lachlan’s seen him. Liv, ring Chas and find out if he was at the pub last night.”

They all get to work, each calling the person they’d been assigned, despite the relatively early hour.

Doug, an early riser, is the first to confirm he hasn’t seen Gerry. Followed by Chas, and eventually Belle (and Lachlan).

No one’s seen him today — or last night for that matter.

“What do we do?” Aaron asks, worry starting to creep its way into his voice. “Do we call the call the police?”

“Maybe we better check with a few more people first,” Robert says, even though there’s _more_ than a hint of doubt in his tone. (If anything, Gerry is an _over_ -texter, constantly alerting them to any update in his or Tip’s lives. Robert’s never known so much about a dog’s poo in his _life_.) “It could just be that his phone just died before he could phone Liv or one of us. Do we know any of those friends he’s always hanging out with?”

He sounds like he’s barely convinced _himself_.

“Know any of whose friends?”

They all look up to see a slightly sweaty Gerry standing in the doorway, none of them having noticed his entrance. He’s dressed exactly the same way he was yesterday.

“Gerry!” Liv exclaims, the first to recover from her shock. “Where were ya?! We were worried sick.”

It speaks volumes that neither man corrects her or makes a joke. Because it’s true. Though they’d been hiding it, they really had been concerned for his welfare.

Thankfully Gerry has the grace to look apologetic.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry ya,” he says, concern etched all over his face.

“That still doesn’t tell us where you were,” Aaron points out gruffly.

Gerry’s cheeks turned pink.

“Today’s my birthday,” he tells them, unaware that they already know, and not nearly observant enough to have noticed what’s been sitting on the table. “Thought I’d go and see my mum and dad.”

The mood in the room instantly shifts, the intense worry transforming into a more gentle version of itself.

“So, how’d it go?” Liv asks after a long beat of silence has passed.

“They weren’t there,” Gerry just shrugs, as if it was the response he’d expected.

Robert and Aaron exchange a look at that. Liv’s attention is focused on her mate. “So they just _left_ ya?”

“I guess,” he says with another shrug. “I tried to ask around about them, but no one remembered. They still thought I was in prison. I was gonna call you but then my phone died and I used the last of my money to get back…”

No one says anything for a bit, each one of them knowing there aren’t _enough_ words for a situation like this, and that nothing they say will be adequate enough.

“Is that an _ice cream cake_?!” Gerry suddenly exclaims, unfettered joy shining through his voice in that way it always does. “For _breakfast_?!”

It takes him another second to realise the significance of it. “Wait… Is this for _me_?”

“No, you _idiot_ ,” Liv tells him warmly. “It’s for the _other_ Gerry Roberts who lives here. _Of course_ it’s for you!”

Gerry looks at all their faces, one by one in succession. “I love it!”

And then, a little more shyly, “You didn’t _have_ to.”

“We know,” Aaron tells him firmly. “But we _wanted_ to.”

“ _Everyone_ deserves a birthday celebration,” Robert adds, leaving the counter he’d been leaning against and taking the empty seat by Aaron at the table.

“Even teenagers who _never_ remember to charge their phones,” Aaron adds, slightly sternly, with a twinkle in his eyes.

Gerry’s cheeks turn pink at that, but it does nothing to dampen the sunny smile on his face.

“Alright,” Robert says, clearing his throat. “Let’s get this party started. Liv, pass me that knife.”

~~~~~

Finally, it’s time for presents, which of course Gerry is completely bowled over by. ( _“You mean_ this _wasn’t it?!”_ )

Robert and Aaron go first, the scruffy haired man handing him an impeccably wrapped rectangular package. The teen opens it to find a set of grey sheets. The look on his face is a mixture of confusion and delight, clearly not having anticipated _this_ at all.

“Uh. Thanks. I’ve never owned my own bed sheets before!” He tells them, running his hand over the soft, folded fabric.

Both older men trade knowing glances and smiles at that.

“We’ve all had a chat,” Robert informs him gently. “And we decided you won’t be sleepin’ in our guest room anymore. You’ll be sleeping in your own room instead.”

“You’re kicking me out on my _birthday_?” Gerry asks in surprise, pausing from feeling the softness of the fabric in his hands.

“No, you _muppet_ ,” Aaron says, shaking his head. “We’re _giving_ you the guest room. It’s going to be your bedroom from now on.”

The boy’s eyes widen in disbelief at that news. He looks at Aaron, before turning back to Robert, before turning back to Aaron again.

“What… What about Seb?” Gerry asks, turning to Robert. “Won’t he need a place to stay?”

The older man smiles at the consideration the boy is showing.

“Yeah, well, we decided _I_ didn’t really need a home office after all,” Robert tells him, his eyes flitting to Aaron for half a second. “We’re going to turn _that_ into Seb’s room instead.”

Gerry nods, but now there’s a confused frown on his face. “But… Why?”

“You’ve been livin’ here long enough,” Aaron explains with a shrug. “Just thought we’d make it official. Give ya an actual place to call ‘home.’”

“I don’t even _have_ stuff,” the teen insists, the news still sinking in.

“Then it’s a good thing it’s ya birthday,” Liv pipes up. “Now you have someplace to put all your presents.”

He blushes at the very thought.

“Speakin’ of which,” Liv says, before sliding over _her_ present.

Gerry picks up the long, thin, rectangular object and rips away the paper to reveal a wooden sign bearing his name. He grins at the sight of it.

“Just thought you’d like to _really_ make it official,” she tells him, happy with his reaction to it.

“I don’t know what to say,” he says, unable to take his eyes off of it.

“That’s a first,” Robert quips, eliciting a chuckle from all of them — _including_ Gerry, who’s still clutching the sign.

“Thank you,” he finally manages, the word laced with all the emotion he’s currently feeling but simply unable to express.

“You’re one of _us_ now,” Aaron tells him firmly. “So you better not go out without telling one of us _ever_ again. You get that?”

“Yes sir,” Gerry replies, bashfully.

“Good,” Robert says, stepping in. “Now go upstairs and start figuring out where you’re going to put your stuff. Aaron and I have got to start clearing up if we’re going to get ready for your party tonight. _Half_ the village is coming. Even _Cain_.”

“When did _you_ get so popular?” Liv asks, surprised by this news.

“I dunno,” Gerry shrugs. “Guess I just have a way with people!”

~~~~~

“So, what’d you wish for?” Liv asks Gerry as she removes another one of the candles she’d picked up from David’s Shop earlier in the day off the cake they’d gotten for the party. Beside her, the older boy is busy helping himself to yet _another_ slice, effectively reducing the amount they’d had left over _even_ more, reasoning that this would make it easier for her to store the rest in only _one_ container. Neither Aaron or Robert say anything, seeing as they’re currently preoccupied with their own task in the living room, the younger man playfully taunting the slightly annoyed older one by repeatedly moving the big black garbage bag he’s holding _just_ out of reach any time the other man attempts to deposit an empty plastic cup or a used napkin.

Gerry thinks back to that moment _right_ after they’d finished singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him, when he’d looked up and seen Liv and Aaron and Robert all smiling at him from off to the side, and he shakes his head.

“Nothing really,” he tells her earnestly, using a fork to cut carve out a bite for himself. “Don’t really need anything else, do I?”

**Author's Note:**

> I've always thought you can learn a lot about someone by what they're choosing to buy at the grocery store and who they might be making that purchase for. It's a nice little act of domesticity that can be filled with so much meaning. Hopefully, I nailed all that. 
> 
> I DID tweak a few things from canon (like Liv's choice of period management products), but I just felt like it lent something to the story to do it this way. (Also, the Dingle proverb thing cracked me up and I couldn't bring myself to cut that weird joke. So apologies for that.) I'm also not quite sure about the characterisation and tone in certain parts, so if there's an issue, please let me know. As always, please leave any thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns you might have below, or come find me over on Tumblr under rustandruin.


End file.
